Dedication

To celebrate the graduation of my daughter Smita, I have

b een inspired to write these re ections on the history and

meaning of our Hindu heritage. This publication is a gift

which I hop e will accompany her as a guide in the journey

of her life as she ventures into the multi-religious world. I

have written an epistle to my daughter, rather than a schol-

arly tome, b ecause it summarizes the origins and truths of

our religion as I have found them through myown under-

standing and exp erience. May she p onder them, b e proud

of their b eauty and wisdom, and keep this summary as a re-

membrance of my devotion. Hari .

Kishor Trivedi

Durham, North Carolina

May 31, 1997

Contents

What is ? 1

The Scriptures 2

No Dogmatism: Freedom to Think 4

On Religious Tolerance 5

Brahman: Ultimate Reality 7

Many Go ds or One Go d? 9

ManyPaths 12

Di erent Philosophies 13

Oneness of Creation 15

Who is a Hindu? 16

Selected Readings 18

An Intro duction to Hinduism

What is Hinduism?

The word \Hindu" do es not o ccur in the , the revela-

tions of this religion; rather, it derives its name from the river

Sindhu in the northwestern part of the Indian sub continent

Sindh, nowinPakistan. At the time of Alexander the Great,

the Greeks and the Persians mispronounced the name of the

inhabitants of the country to the East of the river Sindhuas

Hindus; thus, the religion of these inhabitants b ecame known

as Hinduism. Others called the Sindhu river, Indus; hence the

origin of the words India and Indians.

The correct nomenclature for Hindusim is the Vedic Reli-

gion or Sanatana . The word Sanatana means Eter-

nal in and the word Dharma, although rather com-

plex, basically means religion. Sanatana Dharma is a religion

based on eternal principles and values of life.

Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are all religions founded

by individuals. The dates of their inception are well estab-

lished and their authors are known. No such dates or founder

can b e identi ed for Hinduism. It has grown and evolved nat-

urally, and therefore remains gloriously unde ned. Sanatana

Dharma also means it is without a b eginning or end. Inas-

much as Hinduism b egan with the world, continues to exist,

and will only end with the world itself, it is truly eternal.

Hinduism - A Way of Life

Hinduism is not merely a religion. It is more appropriate to

call it a fellowship of religions b ecause of its lib eral absorption

of the faiths of others. Hinduism is a way of life. It deeply

p ermeates the life of every Hindu from the moment of birth,

b e he a b eliever or a non-b eliever, a scholar or an illiterate.

An atheist is not precluded from b eing a Hindu; hell is not

envisioned for the agnostic.

Hinduism accepts the reality that there are varying intel-

lectual and spiritual levels in each one of us; hence, wemay

strive to obtain the same goal, but follow di erent paths. 1

Hinduism o ers di erent religious approaches to p ersons of

di erent aptitudes, dep ending on whether one is a philoso-

pher or a technician, a mystic or a p erson of action, an in-

tellectual or a simple p erson of faith. Hinduism allows each

one of us to b e guided by our individual spiritual exp erience.

The Sanskrit term for this is Adhikaribheda.

The Scriptures

The Vedas are the revealed scriptures of this religion and

are written in Sanskrit. The Scriptures are divided into two

groups: revelations (Sruti) and tradition (). The Vedas

are considered to b e the primary authority, while the Smriti

texts are deemed secondary (Chart 1).

The Vedas literally mean \knowledge," which is b elieved

to b e eternal, valid for all time and ages. By tradition, they

have b een passed down by sages and rishis. The Vedas are

four in numb er: , Ya jurveda, and Athar-

vaveda. EachVeda text is divided into three parts:

Kanda, Upasana Kanda and (also called the Upan-

ishads). The contain the essence of Hindu phi-

losophy and mysticism.

The secondary texts are further divided into three groups:

Laws, Epics and the . The three ma jor law texts are:

Manu smriti, Ya jnavalkya smriti and Parasar smriti. These

laws can b e mo di ed or adapted to the needs of an age.

Two ma jor Epics or are and Mahab-

harata. The former has b een dated around 2300 BC and the

latter around 1400 BC. contains the famous di-

alogue b etween Lord Sri and Prince Arjuna, called

the Bhagvad Gita. The Bhagvad Gita, the Divine Song, is

the gist of . It is a primary text considered

a part of Vedanta.

The epics teach the greatest of truths in a story form. Sto-

ries from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are related in

gatherings, big and small, throughout India. They are known

even to the most illiterate Hindu, and have b een handed down

through the ages byword of mouth. From these stories, p eo-

ple have learned the rules and the co des of ideal conduct for 2 Chart 1

RELIGIOUS LITERATURE

REVELATION (SRUTI)

VEDAS (Knowledge) TRADITION

(SMRITI)

RIGVEDA SAMAVEDA

UPANISADS (VEDANTA) 3

LAWS EPICS

PURANAS MANU PARASAR RAMAYANA MAHABHARATA

BHAGVAD GITA

BRAHMA PADMA VISHNUSHIVA BHAGVATA NARADA VARAHA LINGA BRAHMAVAIVARTA BHAVISYA MARKANDEYA

BRAHMANDA MATSYAGARUDA KURMA VAMANA SKANDA

man and woman, patrician and pleb eian.

The Puranas are eighteen in numb er, the most p opular

one b eing the Bhagvata Purana.

Vedic teachings were related orally. The Vedas had b een

in existence for many centuries prior to , who only clas-

si ed the Vedas into four parts. He was the compiler of the

Vedas, rather than its author.

Hindu mythology revolves around Vedic Go ds, the two

Epics, and the Puranas.

No Dogmatism: Freedom to Think

Though Hinduism accepts the authority of the Vedas, it do es

not b elieve in a dogma and rejects the exclusive claim of even

a highly evolved individual to a monop oly on Truth. Intel-

ligent and critical inquiry is one of the canons of scriptural

interpretation recognized by Hinduism.

The Rigveda states, \Let noble thoughts come to us from

every side." A vivid example of this attitude is found in the

Bhagvad Gita. Lord Krishna says to his disciple Arjuna at

the end of his teaching, \Thus has the wisdom, the secret of

all secrets, b een declared to you by me; having re ected over

it fully, then act, as you cho ose to act," (Chapter 18, Verse

63).

In accord with this ideal, Lord Buddha advised prince of

Kosaldesh, \Do not accept what I have said to you b ecause

it has b een so said in the past; ... do not accept it b ecause

it is also in holy scriptures; ... but if you nd that it app eals

to your sense of discrimination and conscience as b eing con-

ducivetoyour b ene t and happiness, then only accept it and

live up to it." Thus, according to the Hindu way of thought, a

prophet will constantly counsel his generation, but will never

comp el.

The combination of reason and revelation is resp onsible

for the anity of religion and philosophy in Hinduism. Re-

ligion without philosophy tends to b e dogmatic and sup er-

stitious. Philosophy without religion degenerates into dry

intellectualism. 4

On Religious Tolerance

The fundamental tenet of Hinduism is as many minds,

so many faiths. The Rigveda states, \The Truth is one, and

sages call it byvarious names." The Upanishads declare that,

\Just as cows which are of varied hues yield the same white

milk, all the di erent paths lead to the same goal." Lord

Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita, \As men approach Me, so

do I receive them. All paths lead to Me, O Arjuna." Around

300 BC King Ashoka had this edict inscrib ed on his stone

pillars: \The king, b eloved of the Go ds, honors every form of

religious faith, but considers no gift or honor so much as the

increase of the substance of religion, whereof this is the ro ot:

to revere one's own faith and never to revile that of others.

Who ever acts di erently injures his own religion while he

wrongs another's."

A great Hindu saint of the last century, Sri ,

conducted a series of successful exp eriments with Go d real-

ization, and came to the conclusion that the di erent faiths

are like di erent tributaries which nally merge into the river

and b ecome one.

In our own time, Mahatma Gandhi said, \I b elievein

the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world. I

b elieve that they are all Go d-given, and I b elieve that they

were necessary for the p eople to whom these religions were

revealed. And I b elieve that, if only we could all of us read

the scriptures of the di erent faiths from the standp ointof

the followers of those faiths, we should nd that they were at

the b ottom all one and were all helpful to one another."

Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Hinduism certainly included

the Vedas, but it also contained a broader vista. With-

out impairing the dignity of Hinduism, he saw no inconsis-

tency in paying equal homage to the b est of Islam, Chris-

tianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Mahatma Gandhi's

prayer b o ok, Ashram Bhajanavali, contains Hindu, Buddhist,

Islamic, Zoroastrian and Christian Prayers.

From early history, have b een known to shelter

the p ersecuted eeing from other lands. They gave shelter to

the early Christians and Jews who were eeing from p erse- 5

cution and also to the Parsis, Zoroastrians b eing p ersecuted

in Persia.

Religious tolerance may b e a p olitically correct term in to-

day's context; however, Swami Bharati Krishna dis-

agrees. He says, \I ob ject to the word religious tolerance.

You tolerate something that is injurious, according to your

view. And when we talk ab out tolerating other religions, it

means that we dismiss b eforehand all those other religions

as b eing wicked or unrighteous, but whichwehave the great

magnanimity, the great breadth of mind, to tolerate! That

very word tolerate [used in this context] is an ob jectionable

word; it is an insult." This is the tradition of Hinduism

reviling no religion and honoring truth, wherever it may come

from and whatever garb it maywear.

Hinduism do es not b elieve in horizontal conversion, that

is, switching from one formal faith to another. In contrast,

Hinduism b elieves that real religious conversion is vertical

which means striving to b ecome a b etter p erson. If the heart

is not converted, conversion of faith is of no avail.

A conversation b etween C. Bharati Swami and an Amer-

ican tourist in 1953, sets forth the correct Hindu attitude to-

wards conversion. \ `Whymust it b e,' impatiently demanded

an earnest foreign tourist, `that you will not convert other

p eoples to Hinduism? You have such a b eautiful religion,

and yet you keep so many struggling souls out of it. If you

say`yes' I will b e the rst to b ecome a Hindu!'

`But why' came the counter question, `do you wantto

change your religion? What is wrong with your faith?' Taken

aback, but not daunted, the tourist said, `I cannot say what

is wrong, but it has not given me satisfaction.'

`Indeed, it is unfortunate,' was the reply, `but tell me

honestly whether you have given it a real chance. Haveyou

fully understo o d your religion and lived according to it? Have

you b een a true follower and yet found the religion wanting?'

`I am afraid I cannot say that, Sir.'

`Then we advise you to go back and b e a true follower

of your faith rst; live truly by the word of the Lord, and if

even then you feel unful lled , it will b e time to consider what 6

should b e done.'

`Then, Sir', exclaimed the tourist, `your religion would

inspire a Christian a b etter Christian, a Muslim a b etter

Muslim and a Buddhist a b etter Buddhist. This dayIhave

discovered yet another grand asp ect of Hinduism! What you

must change is not your faith but your life'."

Brahman: Ultimate Reality

One of the things that greatly impressed our ancestors was

transient nature of things and b eings. Of every sub jective

and ob jective exp erience, it may truly b e said, \Even this

shall pass away." Our ancestors wondered whether change

itself is the ultimate reality,oranunchanging essence is the

ground of all changes? Just as the later Greek philosophers,

Hindu sages rst hop ed to answer this question by analysis of

external nature. But they found that the problem of ultimate

reality cannot b e solved through the study of the visible outer

universe.

Other seekers directed their attention to the inner world

within man himself. By means of self-control and concen-

tration they discovered that the realm of the mind is in nitely

more real and more deep than the realm of gross physical

matter. The ultimate reality they discovered is known to us

as Brahman and the symb ol for Brahman is AUM.

The word Brahman comes from the ro ot \brh" with two

meanings: \to increase" and to \nourish." Thus, it literally

means \that which is big." There is no higher degree of the

sup erlative with whichitmay b e compared. \Big" means it

takes up all the space; it has nowhere to go b ecause it is ev-

erywhere. Brahman never diminishes. Being the biggest, it

contains everything else. It is larger than space and not lim-

ited by time. It is the reality of existence and non-existence

alike. Brahman is b eyond sp eech. Plato comprehended this

when he said he would never try to put the highest truth in

writing b ecause it cannot b e done. The Absolute is without

shap e and form and without b eginning or end.

The Universal Spirit is not considered either male or fe-

male, and is referred to by the imp ersonal pronoun, Tat, 7

meaning That. The one statement that encompasses all of

Vedanta is Tat Tvam Asi meaning thou art That,aswell as

you are that eternal Truth and you need not lo ok around you

to nd Go d.

In the Upanishads, there is an illuminating story ab out a

young b oy who asked his father for pro of that the Absolute,

which is not visible, really exists. The father asked his son

to bring a fruit from the mighty banyan tree, and to break

it op en. The young b oy split the fruit and found a tiny

seed within. But when he split the seed he found nothing

inside the seed. The father explained that inside the seed

is something invisible to the eye, out of which the mighty

banyan tree grows. It may not b e seen, but it exists; we

know it do es, b ecause of its e ects.

As a matter of fact, we are thinking of the unthinkable,

describing the indescribable and seeking to know the unknow-

able. That is why our sp eech falters; it is inadequate and

often contradictory.Thus, the nature of this realityissuch

that it cannot b e directly and immediately comprehended,

except by those who havechosen to ful ll certain conditions,

making themselves loving, pure in heart, and pure in spirit.

Self puri cation, self control and meditation are the means

of preparing the mind for Vicara, an enquiry into the nature

of Truth. Vicara is in the form of Sravana, and Ni-

didhyasana. Sravana refers to hearing of the Truth from the

Sruti. Manana refers to re ection up on what is heard, and

Nididhyasana means contemplation of the Truth.

In the past many saints such as , Sri

Ramakrishna and Adi Sankaracharyahave realized Brahman.

I b elieve that many saints of our time such as

and have also realized Brahman.

We, the memb ers of the human family, are not all philoso-

phers. Only a highly quali ed spiritual aspirant can attain

an understanding of Brahman and meditate up on it. For the

rest of us, the approach to Brahman lies through the p ersonal

Go d, the Isvara. Wewant something whichwe can touch and

feel; something whichwe can see; something b efore whichwe

can kneel. It do es not matter whether it is a b o ok, an empty 8

building or a building inhabited bynumerous gures. A b o ok

will satisfy some, an empty building will satisfy others, while

yet others will not b e satis ed unless they see something vis-

ible inhabiting the building.

The Brahman is transcendental meaning b eyond the senses;

Isvara is immanent meaning all p ervading or omnipresent.

The Brahman is often called Nirguna or attribute-less, while

Isvara is Saguna or with attributes. A high degree of symb ol-

ism has evolved to explain the attributes and qualities of the

Absolute to the layman. Diverse iconographical features are

depicted for the various deities at di erent times, dep ending

on the roles they p erform.

Many Go ds or One Go d?

Usually a newcomer to Hinduism is confused ab out many

Go ds and idol worship. Hindu sages have not given di erent

Go ds to p osterity; they have only given us di erent concepts

of the same Go dhead, taking into consideration the limita-

tions and emotional demands of the human mind and intel-

lect.

An idol is like the ag of a country. The ag is not the

country, but it represents the country; therefore, the coun-

trymen have an emotional attachment to the ag itself. Sim-

ilarly, an idol is a symb ol of Go d. The mind cannot worship

in abstraction. Hinduism states that an individual maywor-

ship Go d in any form they like. The form is not imp ortant;

the name is not to b e debated; it is the intensity of devotion

to Go d that matters. It is the attitude of worship, called

Bhakti in Sanskrit, that is of real consequence. Worshiping

an idol in the tradition of Hinduism do es not mean we are

worshiping that inanimate ob ject as Go d, but it means that

we are worshiping that omnipresent Divinity in the form of

an icon b efore us. We are worshiping Go d in the idol and not

the idol as Go d.

Go ds and go ddesses of the Hindu Pantheon are shown

with several arms, faces, weap ons and sup erhuman qualities.

This is done to show the Ultimate to b e ab ove all human

qualities. 9

The \active" Isvara is resp onsible for the creation, suste-

nance and ultimate re-absorption of the visible universe. The

Trinity of , and are three asp ects of Is-

vara resp onsible for the three functions. The energy needed

to carry out the resp ective functions b ecame p ersoni ed in

the Go ddesses Sarasvati, and . Sarasvati is

the Go ddess of wisdom and learning. She holds the Veena,

the emb o dimentofmusic and rhythm, in the cosmic universe.

Lakshmi is the consort of Vishnu. She brings prosp erity and

grace to the human race. Parvati is the consort of Shiva,

pro dding us towards the path of righteousness. and

Kartikeya are two sons of Shiva and Parvati.

In order to save the pious from the evil forces, Vishnu

and Lakshmi incarnate on this earth from time to time, for

example as and , and Krishna and (Chart

2). Much of revolves around the Deities

shown in this chart.

Whatever form of the supreme is adopted for worship,

they are all di erent forms of the same Go dhead. Truth

is one, but sages call it by di erent names. These names,

honored and worship ed byvarious religions, are but symb ols

which enable nite minds to grasp the in nite. Just as all

rainwater nally ows into the o cean, so do es all worship,

o ered to any Deity, ultimately reach the Supreme. What is

needed is a loyalty to one's own ideals and a p ositive resp ect,

not mere toleration, for the ideals of others.

Go d byvarious names, suchas All of us approach one

Isvara, Rama, Krishna, Jehovah, Allah, Go d, and so on. The

Allah of Islam is the same as the Go d of Christians and the

Isvara of Hindus. The Go d of Gandhi cannot b e di erent

from the Go d of Mother Theresa. The names do not indicate

individuali ty but indicate attributes. The common man has

tried in his humble way to describ e almightyGodby giving

Him attributes, though He is ab ove all attributes inde-

scribable, inconceivable and immeasurable. He is one and

yet many. He is smaller than an atom, and bigger than the

Himalayas. He is contained even in a drop of o cean, yet not

even the seven seas can encompass Him. Pure reason is p ow- 10 Chart 3: The Deities

BRAHMAN

Isvara

Ganesh

11 Brahma Vishnu Mahesh Lakshmi Sarasvati Parvati (DASAVATARA)

Matsya Kurma Nrisimha Rama Krishna Buddha Kalki (Yet to come) Varaha

Vamana Parasurama

erless to know Him. Living faith in Go d means acceptance

of the brotherho o d of mankind. It also means equal resp ect

for all religions.

ManyPaths

Due to the freedom of intellectual inquiry,we nd a variety

of views within Hinduism. According to Mahatma Gandhi,

b elief in one Go d is the corner-stone of all religions. \But

I do not foresee a time when there would b e only one reli-

gion on earth in practice. In theory, since there is only one

Go d, there can only b e one religion. But in practice, no two

p ersons I have known have had an identical conception of

Go d. Therefore, there will p erhaps always b e di erent reli-

gions answering to di erent temp eraments and even climactic

conditions."

Hinduism b elieves that the Supreme Being may b e -

proached through several paths, such as Jnana (knowledge),

Bhakti (devotion), Nishkama Karma (sel ess action) and Ra ja

Yoga (meditation). In a lighter vein, the rst three have b een

referred to as www wisdom, worship and work. In fact

the path tro dden by the seeker may b e a combination of two

or more of these discipline s, dep ending up on individual choice

in consonance with temp erament, aptitude and attitude. All

paths, as long as they are based on righteousness, love, truth,

and non-violence, are acceptable according to the Hindu way

of life.

In the Bhagvad Gita, Sri Krishna says, \You havechoice

over your action but not over the results thereof. Do not

[takeyourself to] b e the author of the results of action; do

not b e attached to inaction." Overcoming laziness and indif-

ference, we are exhorted to work. Karma refers to the

p erformance of action with the attitude that all results are

shap ed by the laws of the Lord. By cultivating this attitude,

we no longer su er the sorrow and regret that arise when

the result of our action falls short of our exp ectations. Sri

Krishna further says, \Strive constantly to serve the welfare

of the world; by devotion to sel ess work a man attains the

supreme goal of life." 12

There are six main obstacles or vices which could detract

us from p erforming the right action: lust, anger, greed, infat-

uation, vanity, and jealousy.Toovercome these, one should

practice some of the essential virtues taught to us in our epics

Satyam meaning truth, Ahmisa meaning non-violence,

and meaning the detachment from desires.

Di erent Philosophies

There are various philosophies of Hinduism that attempt to

address the central theme of the relationships among Go d,

soul, and matter. The scho ols of philosophies are divided into

two ma jor categories ortho dox or theistic, and hetero dox

or atheistic. The former b elieve in the Vedas as the primary

authority while the latter do not. Three ma jor scho ols in

the latter group are , Buddhist and Jain. There

are six scho ols in the rst group , Vaisesika, Sankhya,

Yoga, Mimansa and Vedanta. The most p opular among these

is Vedanta with its own scho ols Dvaita meaning Dual-

istic, meaning Quali ed Non-Dualistic and

Advaita meaning Non-Dualistic (Chart 3).

The Advaita scho ol b elieves that Go d is b oth the ecient

and the material cause of the world, much like the spider who

creates the web out of himself. Soul is not di erent from Go d.

The Dvaita scho ol b elieves that there are di erences b etween

(1) Go d and Soul, (2) Soul and Soul, (3) Go d and matter, (4)

Soul and matter, (5) one material thing and another. Go d

is the ecient cause of the world and not its material cause.

The example of a p otter making the p ot from clay is given

here. Soul is saved by the knowledge that it is dep endent

up on and is under the control of Go d. The Vishishtadvaita

scho ol b elieves that there are three ultimate realities: Go d,

Soul, and matter. Of these, Go d alone is indep endent reality,

while the other two are dep endent up on Him. Go d is the Soul

of souls and of nature. He is the supreme moral governor and

redeemer. 13 Chart 3 Schools of Philosophies

Orthodox heterodox Atheistic Theistic (Nastika) (Astik a) 14

Nyaya Vaisesika Sankhya Yoga Mimansa Vedanta

Dualistic Non-dualistic Qualified Charvaka Buddhist Jaina (Dvaita) () Advaita Non-Dualistic (Vishisht advaita)

Oneness of Creation

Once Mahatma Gandhi was asked to de ne the essence of

Hinduism. They argued, \wehave no simple Kalma that we

nd in Islam, nor do wehave 3-16 John of the Bible." Af-

ter some re ection, Mahatma Gandhi said that he regarded

the rst Mantra of Isopanishad (one of the Upanishads) as

containing the essence of Hinduism. This mantra is divided

into four parts or gems. The rst part is, \All this, whatso-

ever moves in this universe, including those that move not,

is indwelt or p ervaded or envelop ed or clothed by the Lord."

The other three parts are corollaries to the rst part. Thus,

Go d is everywhere. We search for Him in vain in temples,

churches and mosques, and do not nd Him. Wehavelooked

everywhere but have forgotten to lo ok in our own hearts.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita, \O Arjuna, Isvara

abides in the hearts of all b eings." Eknath Easwaran says,

\When we discover that the Lord of Love is within us, we

haveentered into the state of joy and security which Jesus

calls the kingdom of heaven within." But the Divinity cannot

b e restricted to one individual, to a group, or to a geographic

region. Go d is everywhere. Based on the unifying idea of

this mantra, the spirit of Hinduism has grown so large that

it embraces everyone and everything.

From Atharvaveda, we learn, \The whole world is one

nest." Wemay b elong to di erent countries and cultures,

races and religions, yet we all dwell in the same house. We

must learn to live happily together. From Kathopanishad,

we learn, \Let us share and enjoy together."

What nationality is the Sun? Russian or American?

What color is the air? Black, Brown or White?

What is the religion of water? Hinduism, Christianity, Islam?

Which class do es the Earth b elong to? Lower class or upp er

class?

Which race do es space b elong to? The human race?

All ve essential elements of Nature are universal

owned by no one, enjoyed byeveryone. Nature is Go d's gift

to mankind. Let us share it and enjoy it together. Let us

preserve it and protect it together. 15

Wemaywear di erent skins, wemay sp eak di erent tongues,

wemay think in di erent shades, yet we are linked and lo cked

together. \The whole world is one big Family." Born on the

same planet, gazing at the same stars, living for the same

purp ose, we are one family. The Earth is our home. Go d is

everywhere and in everyone; therefore, our love for Go d must

translate into our love for fellowhuman b eings. This led the

Vedic sage to pro claim, \May I b e able to lo ok up on all b eings

with the eye of a friend." This love for our fellow b eings is

conveyed in the Upanishadic prayer, \May all b e happy.May

all b e free of disease. May all realize what is go o d. May

none b e sub ject to misery." As a further step in the spiritual

evolution, Isopanishad in a later Mantra declares, \When to

the seeker, all b eings have b ecome one in his own Self, how

shall he feel deluded thereafter? What grief can there b e to

him who sees oneness everywhere?"

If Go d is all, then all living b eings, not just humans, must

b e sacred, and no injury should b e caused to any living b eing.

The highest value is non-violence. The implied reverence to

plants, trees and animals from time immemorial, has made

a Hindu give spiritual emphasis to ecology and the environ-

ment considered contemp orary issues. Eknath Easwaran

states, \It is an urgent need of our time to recognize the

unity of all forms of life, and the ultimate relationship b e-

tween water, earth, air, plants and all creatures ... Salvation,

self-realization, , these are just di erent

words for the same discovery of the unity of all life. This is

what wehave come into this life to accomplish and until we

accomplish this, wehave not attained ful llment."

Who is a Hindu?

Balgangadhar Tilak once said, \One who b elieves that Truths

given in the Vedas are self evident and eternal, is a Hindu."

Some say, \One who says I am a Hindu is a Hindu." There

are many opinions regarding the core b eliefs. The following

are the underlying b eliefs common among Hindus. 16

1. Hindus b elieve in reincarnation, meaning the evolution

through many births until all have b een re-

solved, and moksha meaning spiritual knowledge and

lib eration from the cycle of rebirth. No one will b e

eternally deprived of this destiny.

2. Hindus b elieveinkarma, the law of cause and e ect

by which each individual creates his own destinyby his

thoughts, words and deeds.

3. Hindus b elieve in a one, all-p ervasive Supreme Being

who is b oth immanent and transcendent.

4. Hindus b elieve that the universe undergo es endless cy-

cles of creation, preservation and dissolution.

5. Hindus b elieve that all life is sacred, to b e loved and

revered, and therefore they practice non-violence.

6. Hindus b elieve that no single religion provides the only

way to salvation ab ove all others, but that all genuine

religious paths are facets of Go d's pure love and light,

deserving resp ect and understanding.

Ahimsa paramo Dharma \Non-violence is the great-

est of laws" is p erhaps Hinduism's greatest contribution to

mankind. Mahatma Gandhi used this as the cornerstone of

the Indian Indep endence struggle in the rst half of this cen-

tury. Since then, oppressed p eople all over the world have

adopted it or drawn hop e from it. The Reverend Martin

Luther King in the United States and South Africa's Nelson

Mandela adopted Mahatma Gandhi's teachings to achieve

their own goals.

Swami Vivekananda said, \Thus the whole ob ject of the

system is by constant struggle to b ecome p erfect, to b ecome

divine, to reach Go d and see Go d, and this reaching Go d,

seeing Go d, b ecoming p erfect, `even as the Father in Heaven

is p erfect,' constitutes the religion of the Hindus." This, in

anutshell, is the crux of Hinduism. It is a religion, a wayof

life, a b elief, that o ers paths of spiritual development and 17

exploration of the Ultimate Reality that aims at realization

of and union with the Ultimate Truth.

Selected Readings

1. Bharati Krishna Tirtha, Swami. Sanatana Dharma.

Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1991.

2. Bhashyanand, Swami. From the Unreal to the Real.

Chicago, IL, Vivekanand Vedanta So ciety, 1986.

3. Chinmayananda, Swami. Self Unfoldment. Langhorne,

PA, Chinmaya Publications, 1992.

4. Chinmayananda, Swami. The Holy Geeta. Langhorne,

PA, Chinmaya Publications, 1980.

5. Dayanand, Swami. The Teaching of the Bhagvad Gita.

New Delhi, Vision Bo oks, 1989.

6. Dayanand, Swami. The Purpose of Prayer. Saylors-

burg, PA, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 1991.

7. Easwaran, Eknath. The for Daily Liv-

ing. Tomales, CA, Nilgiri Press, 1992.

8. Easwaran, Eknath. Dialogue with Death. Tomales, CA,

Nilgiri Press, 1992.

9. Gandhi, M.K. Ashram Bhajanavali. Ahmedabad, Navji-

van Publishing House, 1922.

10. Gandhi, M.K. My God. Ahmedabad, Navjivan Pub-

lishing House, 1962.

11. Gandhi, M.K. The Essence of Hindusim. Ahmedabad,

Navjivan Publishing House, 1987.

12. Gandhi, M.K. Discourses on The Gita. Ahmedabad,

Navjivan Publishing House, 1960.

13. Jyotirmayanand, Swami. Srimad Bhagvad Gita. Mi-

ami, FL, Yoga ResearchFoundation, 1986. 18

14. Klostermaier, Klaus. A Survey of Hinduism. Albany,

NY, State University of New York Press, 1989.

15. Krishnamurthy,V. Hinduism for the Next Generation.

New Delhi, Wiley Eastern Ltd., 1992.

16. Lal, R.B. Religion in the Light of Reason and Science.

Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1978.

17. Mahadevan, T.M.P. Outlines of Hinduism. Bombay,

Chetan Limited, 1971; also available from, Durham,

NC, Acorn Press.

18. Mo di, B.K. Hinduism, the Universal Truth. New Delhi,

Brijbasi Printers Private Ltd., 1993.

19. Nair, N.T. Ma, Who is a Hindu? Panther Publishers,

Banglore, 1991.

20. Narayan, R.K. The Ramayana. New Delhi, Vision Bo oks,

1988.

21. Nathan, R.S. (compiler), Symbolism in Hinduism. Bom-

bay, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, 1983.

22. Nikhilananda, Swami. Self-Know ledge. Madras, Sri

Ramakrishna Math, 1947.

23. Parthasarathy,A. Vedanta Treatise. Bombay,Vedanta

Life Institute, 1984.

24. Ra jagopalachari, C. Bhagavad-Gita. Bombay, Bharatiya

Vidya Bhavan, 1982.

25. Ra jagopalachari, C. Mahabharata. Bombay, Bharatiya

Vidya Bhavan, 1968.

26. Ranganathananda, Swami. The Message of the Up-

anisads. Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1990.

27. Shivanandji, Swami. Hindu Dharma. (in Gujarati)

Ahmedabad, Sastu Sahitya MudranalayTrust, 1984. 19

28. Subramuniyaswami, Sivaya. Dancing with Siva. Con-

cord, CA, Himalayan Academy, 1993.

29. Vedanta Concepts. Los Altos, CA, Chinmaya Publica-

tions (West), 1984.

30. Vidyatmananda, Swami. (Ed.), What Religion is In

the words of . Calcutta, Advaita

Ashrama, 1992.

31. Vivekananda, Swami. Hinduism. Madras, Sri Ramakr-

ishna Math, 1991.

32. Way to Peace. Madras, Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1986.

33. Yatiswarananda, Swami. Universal Prayers. Madras,

Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1977.

34. Yoganand, Paramhansa. The Bhagvad Gita. Los An-

geles, CA, Self Realization Fellowship, 1996. 20